Chapter 424 - 405: Seeking Immortality?

Chapter 424: Chapter 405: Seeking Immortality?

My mother’s figure swayed, and she steadied herself against the doorframe. "That Broken Sword Ridge... that thing... Have you forgotten what it said the last time it came back? Did you hear what it said?!"

"It said... It said that with so many people in town sick and the disease spreading, it would be better to just kill everyone who’s infected. Burn them clean with fire, then bury the ashes in the ground as fertilizer. That would root out the plague for good. It said that would work, but... Husband, it... it has no concept of human life!"

"It’s a beast, what could it know!" Father seemed to be using his anger to banish his own fear. "But..."

"But I’m scared!" Mother cut him off. "This strange plague, it specifically targets the pillars of the family! The young and strong men of the town have fallen one after another! I thought the children and the elderly were safe... But Ping’er! He’s only seven! Husband! If he also..."

"Don’t say another word!" Father slammed his fist into the doorframe with a dull THUD. His bloodshot eyes stared at Mother. "It’s because it heard something happened to Ping’er that the little monkey said it would find a way to help! It has a way!"

"Even if... even if everything it said about repaying our kindness and that... thing... are all lies, I still have to try!"

’Little monkey?’

In Lu Ping’s muddled mind, he mulled over the somewhat unfamiliar term.

He seemed to recall that a long, long time ago, his parents had indeed brought home a small, mortally wounded monkey from the mountains.

He didn’t know how it had been injured. He only remembered that when they found it, it was curled up by a stream, a wound on its abdomen so deep you could see the bone. Its breathing was faint, and it looked like it was on the verge of death. If his parents hadn’t found it and brought it back, it probably would have died out there the very next day.

When it first arrived, it was very fierce. Even though it couldn’t move, it would let out a threatening HISS whenever anyone came near, baring its sharp teeth, its eyes filled with a hatred for everything.

It refused to eat anything anyone fed it, including his parents at first. It seemed to have been hurt by humans before.

His parents applied the best herbal medicine to its wound and watched over it day and night. They used a thin bamboo tube to drip rice paste and water into its mouth, bit by bit.

For the first few days, it remained wary and hostile. But when it realized these two people not only weren’t hurting it but were tirelessly caring for it, even feeding it the rice paste they couldn’t bear to eat themselves, the ferocity in its eyes slowly faded away.

Lu Ping also remembered a time when his parents were out, and he curiously tried to touch its white fur.

The monkey instinctively bared its teeth at first, but upon seeing it was him, it hesitated and retracted them. It made a few gurgling sounds in its throat. From that day on, it no longer resisted Lu Ping’s approach and would even proactively rub its little head against his palm.

After its wounds healed, his parents returned it to the mountains. Before it left, the little monkey kept looking back, crying out to them twice. But they hadn’t seen it since.

’Did it come back a few days ago? How is it now? Has it grown up? Is it sick too? Mom and Dad said... it can talk now? What’s going on? Can monkeys even talk?’

Lu Ping had no memory of it. All he knew was that ever since he’d fallen ill, his world had become like this.

Then, he saw his mother walk over and grab his father’s arm, pleading, "Husband... The mountains are dangerous... and it..."

"I’m not afraid of anything now! The only thing I’m afraid of... is waking up to find both of you gone!"

He watched his father resolutely push his mother’s hand away. He too was wearing one of those thick cloth masks soaked in medicinal herbs. His figure showed no hesitation as he walked out of the house and disappeared from sight.

「...」

After an unknown amount of time, Lu Ping managed to open his eyes again to the sound of hurried footsteps.

Father was back.

He was covered in morning dew and dirt, his hair a mess. His face showed a joy mixed with exhaustion.

Next, Lu Ping thought he saw his father take something from his robes, cradling it reverently.

The object seemed to be wrapped in coarse cloth, but a faint halo of light still shone through.

"Wife, quick! Quick!" Father’s voice was hoarse and urgent. "Take the rest of this... and throw it into the town well!"

His mother took the object and hurried out, her steps unsteady.

Lu Ping looked at his father’s face, felt his eyelids grow heavy again, and fell back into darkness.

This time, his sleep was exceptionally strange. It felt like a dream his former self would not have had.

In his dream, he saw countless twisted, blood-red vines burst from the ground, coiling around blurry human figures. And in his ears, someone was repeatedly whispering something in a language he couldn’t understand at all...

When he was next woken by a clamor of voices outside, the sky was already bright.

He wiggled his fingers. His high fever was completely gone. Aside from some lingering weakness, there seemed to be a new, indescribable warm current flowing inside him. He could even sit up on his own.

Outside, the suppressed sobs of the past few days were gone, replaced by cheers of survival and sounds of celebration!

"They’re better! Everyone’s better!"

"Mr. Lu! He saved the lives of everyone left in our town..."

’The town... is cured?’

Joy welled up in Lu Ping’s heart. He wanted to get out of bed to find his father, but he searched the entire house and couldn’t find him anywhere. Only his mother was there, sitting alone on the threshold of the main room, her back to him. Her shoulders were twitching, and her eyes were red and swollen.

Just then, the courtyard gate was pushed open with a CREAK.

The old town chief led a large group of people who swarmed in, carrying chickens, ducks, rice, and flour, their faces wreathed in smiles. Most of them were the town’s elderly, with a few younger adults mixed in. Every one of them had a rosy complexion, looking even more hale and hearty than they had before the great sickness.

"Mrs. Lu! We’ve come to congratulate you! After all, he has obtained a fated opportunity, a chance to pursue Cultivation!" The old town chief’s voice boomed, full of vigor.

"Yes, yes! Mr. Lu’s boundless virtue has allowed him to attain the Dao. It is a blessing for our entire town!"

An old woman even pushed her way to the front, wiping away tears. "It’s all thanks to Mr. Lu... He’s the one who saved these old bones of ours..."

Seeing the crowd, his mother’s body clearly stiffened for a moment. She quickly wiped the corners of her eyes with her sleeve. By the time she turned around, she had already forced a smile. "Everyone... why have you all come..."

The townspeople were exceptionally enthusiastic. When they saw Lu Ping was already able to get out of bed, they let out a collective gasp of surprise.

They crowded around, sizing him up with a look one might use for the "son of an immortal." Their gazes were a mixture of awe, gratitude, worry, and also a trace of... greed?

Lu Ping noticed that his mother’s body was tense as she faced their enthusiasm; she was even shrinking back unconsciously. Seeing him come out, his mother rushed forward and pulled him into her arms, her body trembling uncontrollably.

In a moment when no one was watching, she quickly stuffed something hard into the inner pocket of Lu Ping’s clothes. Lu Ping didn’t know what it was, only that it pressed painfully against his chest.

"Mom... where’s Dad?" Lu Ping asked in a small voice. "Where did Dad go?"

His mother’s arms, holding him, tightened abruptly. She didn’t answer right away.

But the surrounding elders all started talking at once, eager to answer. "Pingwa, your dad, he’s had a great fortune! He shouldered the fated opportunity for our whole town and has gone to become a real immortal!"

"That’s right! From now on, the whole town will take care of you and your mother! We’ll set up an ancestral tablet for your dad and burn three sticks of incense every morning and night to thank him for his immense grace!"

Amidst the crowd’s fanatical "blessings," his mother slowly released him. She kept her head down, not daring to look Lu Ping in the eye, her voice as quiet as a mosquito’s buzz:

"Your dad... he... he’s gone to seek immortality..."

Lu Ping was stunned.

’Seek immortality?’

’Isn’t the plague gone? Why did he have to leave?’

’Did he leave in such a hurry that he couldn’t even wait for me to recover completely, to take one good look at me?’

’Is it because... of that glowing thing? Is it because of the ’fated opportunity’ they mentioned?’

’Is Cultivation that important? More important than family?’

Just as he was feeling confused, he once again heard those voices that had surrounded him during his illness.

The sound was like someone whispering right behind his ear, and also like something humming in the wind. It was much clearer than in his dream.

"...&@#%@..."

"...you...@#^^#@#...@#^@^..."

He subconsciously looked around, trying to see who was speaking.

But in the courtyard, aside from his silently weeping mother who held him and the people with flushed, beaming faces, there seemed to be nothing else.

And yet... it also seemed like the voice was coming from inside his own body...

’What’s going on?’

He had a feeling his ’original’ self shouldn’t have been able to hear these sounds.

「...」

The crowd’s enthusiasm didn’t fade for a long time. It wasn’t until the sun began to set in the west that they finally left in twos and threes, and a dead silence fell over the courtyard once more.

His mother let go of him but still didn’t look at him. She just silently gathered the chickens, ducks, rice, and flour the people had left behind, her movements numb.

Lu Ping stood where he was, the hard object in his clothes pressing painfully against his chest. He wanted to ask, but he didn’t dare.

’Dad, did he really go off to pursue Cultivation?’

’Will he come back?’

「...」

When his vision cleared again, night had already fallen.

"Can’t take more people..." He saw his mother seeming to murmur something in the dim moonlight.

’Can’t take more people? What is Mom talking about?’

"Mom?" Lu Ping called out softly.

"Don’t talk." His mother was startled to find him awake. She kept her voice very low. "We’re leaving. I’ll take you to find your father."

She made a shushing gesture at him, then quickly pulled an outer coat over him.

’Find Dad?’

Joy instantly filled Lu Ping’s heart!

’Dad didn’t abandon me! Mom’s taking me to find him!’

Then, he let his mother pull him by the hand as they began to run wildly toward the edge of town. The cold night wind from the mountains blew against him, making him shiver.

His mother pulled him along at nearly a sprint, running down the pitch-black mountain roads. They deliberately chose only the roughest and most difficult paths.

Lu Ping didn’t know where they were ultimately going. He only knew that his mother’s hand was gripping his very tightly, with great force.

Just as they ran past the town’s borders, several points of firelight suddenly appeared up ahead.

"Who’s there?"